WARSAW

Polish politicians slammed Jan Grabiec, the head of the Polish Prime Minister's Chancellery, on Friday for making sarcastic remarks about the Gaza-bound Sumud flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians, in which ruling Civic Coalition (PO) MP Franciszek Sterczewski participated, saying it "resembled a vacation."

"You have to be brainless to say something like that in the media," said the leader of the Left party, a minor party in the three-party coalition government.

"You also have to be heartless to mock humanitarian aid for victims of war crimes. You have to be (Premier) Donald Tusk to appoint such an idiot as head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery," Adrian Zandberg wrote on the US social media company X.

In a separate statement on X, Robert Biedron, co-chair of the Razem (Together) party, said: "For some, helping starving children is a pure good deed; for others, it's a 'vacation' and a good reason for ridicule. The coalition should be united on the issue of the genocide in Gaza."

Bartosz Bochenczak, the secretary of New Hope, a far-right opposition party, also weighed in: "After such brazen words, one would like to send Jan Grabiec on a vacation in international waters with a bonus tour of Israeli detention centers with a Mossad officer as a guide," he stated.

Grabowiec told commercial television channel TVN24 on Thursday evening: “I wouldn't call it a mission. When we saw the photos from those boats in Barcelona, ​​it looked more like a vacation than a mission."

Sterczewski was fined by the parliamentary group for skipping parliament sessions while on the Sumud flotilla.

He wrote on X Thursday: "I admit that recently I felt like a bull in a China shop in politics, but lately some people are trying very hard to make me feel like I'm in an antique shop."

The MP said in an interview with Radio Zet: "I informed my club's leadership that I would not be attending the Sejm sessions in September. I have correspondence to prove it. I explained my reasons for the absence, but it was not recognized by the club," he said. The MP added that he "would sail again."

On Friday, he added another post: "About 70% of Poles oppose the genocide in Gaza, and 60% want sanctions against Israel. Therefore, texts ridiculing humanitarian aid are against societal expectations. It's a recipe for losing the election. Maybe then those who talk like that will be able to fulfill their fantasies of a vacation in Barcelona."

According to the daily Gazeta Wyborcza, the four Poles on the flotilla plan to meet with Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to discuss Poland’s stance towards Israel. The four—Omar Faris, Ewa Jasiewicz, Karolina Nina Ptak, and Sterczewski—returned to Warsaw from Athens on Wednesday after being deported earlier by Israel.

All have received a 10-year ban from entering Israel. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said while the four were in Israeli detention that they could not expect special help from Warsaw.

At a press briefing at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport after landing, Sterczewski called for a change in the government’s approach. “We are deeply disappointed with the position of the foreign minister. While we were trying to draw the world’s attention to this genocide, why did Minister Sikorski downplay the situation?” he asked.

Sterczewski added that the foreign minister could be "strong and courageous" on the international stage when speaking about Russia and its war crimes.

On the other hand, this same person is capable of turning a “blind eye to Israel's crimes, legitimizing them, instead of supporting us and saying that we are right, that we are simply trying as a group of activists and civilians to end this genocide and draw the world's attention to an important issue," he said.

Describing Sikorski’s behavior, Sterczewski used the term "Netanyahu's lawyer."